AUTHOR ARCHIVES

Erich Wagner

Erich Wagner is a staff correspondent covering pay, benefits and other federal workforce issues. He joined Government Executive in the spring of 2017 after extensive experience writing about state and local issues in Maryland and Virginia, most recently as editor-in-chief of the Alexandria Times. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.

September 8, 2017
The Environmental Protection Agency reportedly will have shed more than 400 employees by the end of September as a result of the department’s buyout and early retirement effort. But that number is still far below the goals set by Administrator Scott Pruitt in July. EPA said at the time it...

September 8, 2017
This article has been updated. President Trump on Friday signed legislation staving off a government shutdown and default until early December and appropriating $15.25 billion for hurricane relief efforts. The House passed the bill earlier Friday. The plan, formulated by congressional Democrats as a counterproposal to GOP efforts to keep...

September 7, 2017
Senators voted Thursday to approve a three-month extension to the debt limit and governmental spending, and they significantly increased a package for hurricane relief. The plan to keep the government open and out of default would set a new deadline of Dec. 8 for Congress to approve fiscal 2018 appropriations...

September 6, 2017
The Office of Personnel Management effectively made no progress in its handling of the backlog of federal retirement claims in August, although the number of new claims declined. According to statistics released Tuesday, the backlog of retirement claims at the end of August was 17,125, slightly higher than the 17,091...

September 6, 2017
President Trump on Wednesday backed a Democratic plan to avert a government shutdown and default, surprising many on Capitol Hill. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he supported a Democratic plan to keep government open through a continuing resolution that would expire Dec. 15. He said he also...

September 5, 2017
President Trump announced a long list of nominees to key positions within the administration late last week, most notably to posts managing the federal workforce, budget and acquisitions. Trump named Jeff T. H. Pon to be director of the Office of Personnel Management, replacing George Nesterczuk, who withdrew his name...

September 5, 2017
President Trump has announced his picks for Office of Personnel Management director and key posts in the Office of Management and Budget. Career human resources professional Jeff Tien Han Pon is in line for the top job at OPM, the White House announced Friday night. Pon was most recently the...

September 1, 2017
All but two portfolios in the federal employee 401(k)-style retirement program saw downturns in growth in August, and two others dipped into the red. The Thrift Savings Plan’s S Fund, made up of small to midsize businesses dropped 0.41 percent last month, bringing its 2017 growth down to 8.16 percent....

August 31, 2017
President Trump issued an alternative pay plan for civilian federal employees Thursday, officially giving workers a 1.9 percent raise in 2018. The total pay raise is equal to the pay increase proposed in the White House’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal last spring. The figure includes a 1.4 percent base increase,...

August 30, 2017
As officials at all levels of government continue to respond to the impacts of Hurricane Harvey on east Texas and Louisiana, public employee groups are contributing their own resources to the effort and providing outlets for feds not directly engaged in the response to help as well. The American Federation...